LA Parking Cops: 24; Amy: 1

On my street, street cleaning is on Thursdays and Fridays from 9am to noon. (Most neighborhoods start at 8am, so this is relatively nice.)

This morning, I got out to my car at 9:08am. The parking lady was just down my street, in the process of ticketing a Jeep that has received at least 4 parking tickets in the last 10 days. My car was the opposite way down the street. I booked it to my car...and pulled away just as she pulled up behind me. YES!! Victory is mine! (For once.)

The excitement never ends since tomorrow is Friday. Hopefully I'll get a Thursday-side parking spot...cross your fingers for me! :o)

Is this legal?

My mom just friended me on Facebook.

I'm not sure what to think.

IKEA

So, this new apartment of mine is adorable. Dark-stained hardwood floors, lots of light, lots of architectural details, newly remodeled kitchen and bathroom...so cute and so me!

My roommate is just as adorable. She is Swedish and is incredibly sweet and generous.

As I was initially moving into the apartment, I noticed that a lot of the furniture was from Ikea. Now, I know that Ikea is a staple for furniture and decor in my demographic...

but did I mention that she was Swedish?

243 days later...

It has been seven months and 30 days since my last post. Oops! It's probably just due to laziness, but I kind of feel like I haven't had anything witty to say since March. Is that possible? I think that summer and camp and all of those responsibilities drain my creativity-- so sad...

Okay, in September I moved yet again. For the first time since I have lived in LA (9 years now), I have a new zip code! I now reside in the tony neighborhood of Brentwood. Yay! Living there comes with responsibilities: I must always be dressed as a fashionista...or in my yoga/workout clothes, I must walk everywhere (or jog, preferably) with my choice of accessories: adorable dog, adorable boyfriend, or credit card/ cell phone so that I am prepared when my workout conveniently ends up at Starbucks. Seriously. If you were to observe the comings and goings in my neighborhood, 99% of people fall into these categories! It's cute...but impossibly cute.

Everything but the kitchen sink

Last night, I made some WONDERFUL cookies. They are so yummy...AND they are so filling that you can, in fact, eat just one!


I got the recipe from Martha Stewart's "Everyday Food" magazine. They are called "John's Kitchen Sink Cookies," (see: everything but the kitchen sink) and they do in fact contain most of the ingredients in your pantry. They seem to be chocolate chip cookies, but then they morph into oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies. Before you know it, they have become raisin- (or dried apricots, in my case, since I don't like raisins) oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies. Then, you turn your back on the bowl, and (wal)nuts jump in, too! So now they are dried-apricot-oatmeal-walnut-chocolate-chip cookies. And pure deliciousness!

I think I may have one for breakfast. Think of it- oats, fruits, nuts...all breakfast foods, right?!

Daylight Savings Time "Change"

Ok, since I have now missed several more days of NaBloPo- March, I am deviating from the "list" topic. I have recently made a significant commitment...to myself.

I have committed to leaving work at 6pm at least once per week.

I don't know how you might interpret that statement, but it is a big deal for me. I run a summer camp, and things are really starting to get busy at work. As you can imagine, they will only get busier, culminating in 90-hour weeks followed by 14 days of round-the-clock work at sleep-away camp.

But, Daylight Savings Time just started. So, I have committed to leaving by 6pm (5pm if I'm really optimistic!) once a week. Normally I leave the office between 7pm and 8:30pm. Leaving early (or, earlier) is the difference between day and night, literally. It means that I have time for a walk, or a drive along the beach, or dinner at a decent hour.

I have a tendency to be a workaholic. This is fine for now, since I am single and basically without external responsibilities. This frees me up to focus on my career, which is a job I love and adore. However, this isn't a good pattern for my future, if I hope to be a wife and mother. So, this commitment to leave at a decent, reasonable hour regularly is a good step in a healthy direction. I won't be able to change the increasing number of hours per week, or the impending stress (you know, caring for 300 children and 10 staff isn't necessarily a piece of cake!), but I can do what I can while I can.

Wish me luck.

A Few of My Favorite Things...

* Yellow gerbera daisies
* Chlorox bleach for colors
* Starbucks black-tea lemonades
* Avocados
* Real Simple magazine
* Smooth river rocks
* High-quality paper
* Le Creuset enameled cast iron dishes
* The perfect hiking shorts (by REI)
* Hardwood floors
* Yahoo! calendar
* The smell of Swiffer wet cloths- Spring Fresh
* Rain jackets
* Laser photocopiers
* Target
* Fresh blackberries
* Frameless photo frames
* ...

What Not to Eat

So last week I started a detox program (no, not the Lindsay-Lohan-at-the-Cirque-Lodge-type...this is the rid-your-body-of-environmental-and-food toxins type) for two weeks. What follows is a list of everything that I am NOT supposed to consume during these 14 days. (p.s. It's actually easier to follow than it seems)

* Caffeine
* Alcohol (not an issue, thankfully)
* All dairy products
* Starchy vegetables (think corn, potatoes)
* Things with a high yeast content (grapes, melons, etc.)
* Vinegars
* Refined flours and refined grains
* Sugars...of all types (including jams, jellies, fruit juices, etc.)
* Pork products
*Certain types and cuts of meat
* ...the list goes on, too!

So far so, good. I've only cheated a few times, and I'm feeling well. Yay!

Lists- Part One

List of how many days that I have already not posted for NaBloPo-March:

* March 1
* March 2

Oops.

To redeem myself, I MUST post the recipe for THE MOST DELICIOUS SANDWICH...EVER!!!

Mango- Avocado Sandwich (makes 4)

1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp. lime juice
salt and pepper
1 mango, thinly sliced
1 avocado, thinly sliced
leafy, fun lettuce
the best bread you can find (I LOVE Milton's- in the purple bag)

Combine the mayo, cilantro, and lime juice in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Toast the bread and lightly coat with the mayonnaise mixture. Layer slices of mango and avocado and top with a lettuce leaf (and the other piece of bread!).
Enjoy!

**Note: this recipe is "supposed" to make 4 sandwiches, but I used half the avocado for 1 sandwich! Delish, as Rachael Ray would say! P.s. this recipe came from "Everyday Food."

**Confession: This sandwich was so fabulous that I ate one for lunch...and other for "dinner" (an hour later). Yum!

Nutritional Math

I just took my daily multi-vitamin...with a swig of Pepsi.

It felt wrong at the moment, but it made me laugh...almost losing BOTH the Pepsi and the vitamin!

So my question is: does the Pepsi cancel out the vitamin's effects, or does the Pepsi become healthy??!

The new cell phone law

You probably haven't considered this yet, so here you go.

I'm sure everyone is aware of the new law in California regarding cell phone usage that goes into effect on July 1, 2008. Basically, if you want to talk on the phone while you are driving, you must use a hands-free device. Bluetooth, a basic headset, it all works. But here's where it gets stupid.

If you want to use a Nextel- or Boost-type push-to-talk radio (think the annoying chirp followed by someone's too-loud voice while you are in the grocery store), in the car...you must STILL USE A HANDS-FREE DEVICE.

Let me let that sink in a little bit.

To reiterate, the point of push-to-talk is avoiding having to dial a phone number, wait for it to ring, and hold it up to your head. So, with the new law, you will still need a hands-free setup...BUT TO USE TO PHONE/RADIO, YOU STILL HAVE TO "PUSH-TO-TALK."


I love legislation.

January was National Organization Month

As a regular reader of "Real Simple," a fan of The Container Store, and a listener of Martha Stewart Radio, of course I knew that January was National Organization Month. I normally look forward to January (literally all year) for the fresh start that it promises, both literal and metaphorical. (This will make more sense when I state that Monday is my favorite day of the week. Weird, yes, but at least I'm consistent!)

Since I live in Southern California, January is when I do my "spring cleaning." The weather is phenomenal, and as I put away the holiday decorations, I clean and reorganize everything in my path. Usually.

This January, it rained.

Spring cleaning is called "spring" cleaning for a reason. The fresh air that comes only after a rain, followed by clean breezes summons the domestic goddess in (some of) us.

So, while it rained...I went to Hawaii. I was offered a wonderful chance to take a virtually all-expense paid trip to Waikiki for a week, and I jumped at the chance. But instead of tropical weather and warm breezes, it was overcast and windy. Oh, well, at least it wasn't THAT expensive of a trip!

So, somehow, the month of January nearly escaped my cleaning gloves. (They're cute: black rubber gloves with polka dot trim!) But it was rescued in the form of an office renovation.

My office is actually a one-bedroom bungalow (no, I don't live there), and the actual "office" part is in the room that would have been the bedroom. And I say "room" instead of "a true rectangle," since we discovered that it is actually a trapezoid (7'3" wide at one end of the room and 7'6" at the other end)!

I pulled all of the furniture out of the office, cleaned/primed/painted the walls, put new carpet in, put most of the furniture back in, installed new furniture/organizational systems, and am now living with the smell of paint and new carpet. (Sidenote: this is a weird combination of smells since it smells EXACTLY like my sophomore year dorm when I moved into a brand-new building, but this is an ancient bungalow...my olfactory nerve/memory is getting confused!)

The most exciting part, though, was plugging in two computers, two phones/phone lines, two routers, a server, and two printers, for a total of 40 cords...and having everything work on the first try!! Victory!

So this one counts since the entire project was completed by the end of January, but let's just pray for better weather NEXT January!

Animal cruelty??

So, this year, I decided that I would make homemade dog treats for all of the dog lovers in my life for Christmas. (I know-- there goes the surprise!)

There's a catch.

A wonderful, adorable, cute dalmatian lives at my apartment. Her name is Chloe, and she is fabulous! Anytime that I am in the kitchen, preparing anything from steak salad to pumpkin bars to cereal, she is there, just hoping that I will drop something.

It is her ever-presence that makes me pause when I consider making MANY batches of dog treats in the coming month. Is it wrong and/or excessively cruel to make all of those delicious-smelling treats when she is in the apartment? It's true that she will reap the benefits of my efforts, but I had to consider this moral dilemma....

What do you think?

I know why cowboys walk so slow...

**I apologize to NaBloPoMo for having not posted ANYTHING since last Monday...but I've just been having too much fun!!

I have the fabulous opportunity to be involved with a professional organization that has conferences. But these aren't just any conferences. These are vacation destinations with learning opportunities. Yep, the merging of two of my favorite things: travel and learning. The most recent conference was held at a dude ranch. Need I say more?

We arrived on Wednesday, and the activities were already in full swing: delicious dinners, informative meetings, horseback riding, tennis, two-step and swing dancing, networking, flirting with the wranglers... (just kidding!)

That next morning I took the "lope test." (For all of you greenhorns out there, "lope" is cowboy slang for "gallop.") The wranglers want to see you ride the horse at a lope around the corral to show that you are skilled enough to go on the "lope rides" out in the desert.

My horse, Gator, would not move.

Let's just say that I didn't pass the lope test that morning. He was so stubborn that when he finally started moving, it was nowhere near a lope, and barely a trot. I was so embarrassed, but not defeated.


Fast forward: I did pass the test the next day on a fabulous horse named Scattergun (pictured above). I then reserved him for the lope rides later that day, and we had a great time. On Saturday, I spent 4 hours in the saddle- more than I had in a LONG time, and I was definitely feeling it on Sunday morning. But, first thing Sunday morning, we went on a two-hour breakfast ride. We took a nice long lope ride to breakfast, which was prepared by the OWNER of the ranch (blueberry pancakes, melted butter, warm blueberry syrup, sausage/bacon, eggs, biscuits, and coffee--it was fabulous). Let's just say that I was really hoping that we weren't going to lope on the way home!

It was a great experience-- one of the evenings we had a barbeque cookout in the Cottonwood Grove. I had heard that "the javelinas might come out towards the end of dinner." Javelinas?? Aren't they pig/boar things??? Yes, they are what you think they are, and yes they did come out after dinner, but they hung around the outskirts of the barbeque hoping to find some scraps.

Speaking of javelinas, the naturalist at the dude ranch wants everyone to know that javelinas ARE NOT PIGS. I now know all of the anatomical differences, and that their most closely related living creature is in fact the HIPPOPOTAMUS. Who knew?

Global warming or just a frequent traveler?

Five weeks ago I was packing for a wedding in Tahoe. The forecast was 45 degrees with clear skies. It snowed.

Four weeks ago I was packing for a trip to coastal Maine. The forecast was 55 degrees with a chance of bad weather. I only wore a light jacket the whole time.

Last week I packed for a wedding in Northern California. The forecast was 75 degrees. I wore shorts.

This week I am packing for a week at a dude ranch in Arizona. The normal temperature this time of year is in the high 70s. It was 88 degrees there yesterday.



Who knows?! But I have been having a lot of fun on my travels. I will post updates on the dude ranch when I arrive. (For those of you in your mid-20s, it's the same ranch that was used in the Nickelodeon show "Hey Dude.")


Edit: The previously mentioned bag of mandarin oranges was actually a 20-pound bag, a fact that I discovered after lugging them up several flights of stairs. But they are still worth the whopping $5 that I paid for them.